1983FILM – ☠肉に大きな白い死亡☹

Recommendation: ☹

☠肉に大きな白い死亡☹1 is a chaotic classic-style vaporwave album that is constructed from audio rips of Japanese anime.2 It comes from the artist 1983FILM, who released a couple albums in 2015 before fading back into the obscurity that is the sea of pseudo-anonymous vaporwave producers.3 Tracks are composed by one of two methods: small snippets of media that are repeated at varying pitches/tempos and long, drifty tracks (we’re talking three minutes rather than one) with heavily equalized source material.

1983FILM’s debut is comparable to (and likely indebted to) ▣世界から解放され▣ by Robin Burnett of INTERNET CLUB, producing as ░▒▓新しいデラックスライフ▓▒░. As one of the most well-known and – depending on whom you ask – critically-acclaimed/-hated releases of early vaporwave, ▣世界から解放され▣ inspired a wealth of imitators and parodiers such as FLORAL SHOPPE 2. ☠肉に大きな白い死亡☹ lies in the former realm, utilizing Burnett’s microsample-glitch aesthetic (e.g. “沈黙を破る”) and somewhat dissonant aesthetic, as on “沈黙を破る”. However, where Burnett’s experiments resulted in something firmly grounded in noise, 1983FILM’s release is firmly grounded in classic-style vaporwave, focusing on select musical samples – as distorted as they are – rather than opting for the chaos of broken transmission.

Despite its topically experimental and abstract qualities, ☠肉に大きな白い死亡☹ is a rather mainstream classic-style release. The impression is that 1983FILM was not sure whether to stick with the classic-style samplism aesthetic or go full-throttle on the noise. One example of where the latter peaks through is “!!!!!…..????? (x SLY)”, which remixes track ten. It’s five minutes of absurd glitches, rumbles, and degradation that are so chopped-and-screwed, Vince from Slap Chop made a commercial about it.4 It could’ve been a great, unique avenue for 1983FILM that takes the whole noise approach to an extreme that even テレビ体験 didn’t touch on Y. 2089.

Another example of a route that didn’t seem explored when it’s literally in your face is sex. The sexual themes of 1983FILM are barely present except for the topless anime girl. A couple track titles reference sex, but it’s just “fuck me” and the word “sex”. It’s as if 1983FILM wanted sex to be an enticement but also felt uncomfortable (or unwilling) to go all the way with it as a concept, as best metaphorically demonstrated by the artist name censoring the nipples.5 This is not a call for objectification; it shows a route that was missed when it’s obviously one of the main advertising points. The one exception is “蓮の庭の春のセックス”, which features two minutes of anime girls giggling with a sexy, downtempo backbeat. Sex isn’t something that vaporwave seems to touch all too often,6 and it’s disappointing that 1983FILM seemed to pass on giving that a further look.

At the end of it all, ☠肉に大きな白い死亡☹ has several engaging ideas that were left unexplored. Good ideas, that is certain – but ones at which 1983FILM hinted rather than fleshed out.